The present invention relates to a date entry apparatus with which users can easily enter dates into an information device and also relates to a computer-readable medium storing program data which enables such date entry.
As information devices that can manage personal information, there are provided, for example, portable information terminals in which PIM (Personal Information Manager) software is implemented in a ROM (Read Only Memory) or computers that executes a PIM program. In these information devices, a PIM program is executed, during which time a schedule management function is selected as one function thereof. When this function is activated, a user can enter an arbitrary date, and write information about schedules on that date (or actions on past dates).
For making it easier for a user to enter dates, a conventional PIM program is provided with a graphical user interface which will be described below with reference to FIG. 1. When a xe2x80x9cnew entryxe2x80x9d is selected by a user, a calendar screen for each month is displayed, as shown in FIG. 1, where the user uses a pointing device to point at any day on the calendar. Thus the device can recognize that the month (or week) displayed and the day pointed thereon have been entered.
In such date entry method, if a desired date to be entered exists in a month (or week) to which the current date belongs, the date entry operation becomes relatively easier. By contrast, unless a desired date to be entered exists in a month (or week) to which the current date belongs, a user should make the displayed calendar scroll until it becomes a month (or week) where the desired date exists, and point at the desired date on the scrolled calendar screen at last. In FIG. 1, for example, assume that a month to which the current date belongs is May and a desired date to be entered is June 1. A user is obliged to operate a pointing device to point at a xe2x80x9cnext monthxe2x80x9d button with a click, thereby the screen being changed to a June calendar. The user is required to point at the desired date on this screen for the first time. Users are terribly burdened with such scrolling operation for managing their schedules.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve the problem in the conventional date entry method, i.e., to provide a date entry apparatus capable of easily entering a desired date without operation to scroll the screens.
The present invention pays attention to the fact that dates entered for schedule management are mostly within one week or one month from the entry operation date. In order to realize the foregoing object, the invention adopts the following configurations.
As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention provides, as one aspect, a date entry apparatus for entering a date into an information device. The apparatus basically comprises date acquiring means 23 for acquiring a current date, and date specifying means 24 for specifying the date including a month and a day on the basis of data indicative of the day entered and the current date acquired.
According to this configuration, on the basis of a current date acquired by the date acquiring means 23 and entered data indicative of a date, the date specifying means 24 enables specification of a date including a month and a day. Therefore, it is enough for a user to enter a date corresponding to an objective date to be entered. The objective date is thus inputted into an information device. Since a range of dates into which the date entry is allowed is decided on the acquired current date as a reference, the schedule management can be performed with flexibility even when schedules change from time to time.
For example, the date specifying means is configured to input the specified date into a program executed by the information device.
Preferably, the above configuration can be developed to further comprise a parameter storing member storing a parameter for specifying a range of dates into which a user is allowed to set the date; and date-range deciding means for deciding the range of dates on the parameter under the acquired current date being set as a reference day, wherein the date specifying means is configured so as to specify the date including the month and the day based on a date residing within the range of dates decided by the date-range deciding means.
According to this developed configuration, the date-range deciding means decide the date range on the basis of the acquired current date and the parameter stored. The date range thus-decided depends on setting of the parameter, and can be confined to the dates of one month or one week. In such case, any day existing within the date range can be specified by only a day included in the date. Hence, the date including a entered day is specified by the date specifying means from the range of dates decided by the date-range deciding means. The parameter can be set beforehand, or can be customized freely by a user in order to realize entry of convenient dates.
It is preferred that in the foregoing developed configuration, the parameter has a first parameter for specifying a relative difference between a start day of the range of dates and the reference day and a second parameter for specifying a length of the range of dates.
It is also preferred that in the foregoing developed configuration, the date specifying means has means for determining whether or not the entered date exists within the range of days decided by the deciding means and means for issuing alarm toward the user unless the entered date exists within the range of days.
As another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-readable medium into which a program is recorded which is executed by a computer connected with an input apparatus to which data indicative of a day are entered by a user, the program providing the functions of; acquiring a current date; and specifying the date including a month and the day on the basis of the data indicative of the day entered and the current date acquired.
By way of example, the program further provides the functions of; storing a parameter in the computer for specifying a relative range of dates into which the user is allowed to set the date; deciding the range of dates on the parameter under the acquired current date being set as a reference day; and specifying, as the date specifying functions, the date including the month and the day based on a date residing within the range of dates decided. In this configuration, preferably, the parameter has a first parameter for specifying a relative difference between a start day of the range of dates and the reference day and a second parameter for specifying a length of the range of dates.
It is also preferred that in the above configuration, the date specifying function includes determining whether or not the date including the day indicated by the data entered to the input apparatus exists within the range of days decided and issuing alarm toward the user unless the date exists within the range of days.